Press releases

Singapore leading in fingerprint biometrics and voice recognition technologies to authenticate a customer’s identity, and prioritising innovation ahead of China, the UK and the US

However, global concern around ability to identify customers, is also true in Singapore

APAC markets ahead in adoption of emerging technologies such as blockchain and robotic process automation

SINGAPORE, March 5, 2018 – Singapore leads the global adoption of fingerprint biometrics and voice recognition technologies to authenticate a customer’s identity in the financial services sector, according to a new international study “Leaders in Financial Services are Experts in Customer Identity” commissioned by identity data intelligence specialist GBG and conducted by Forrester Consulting.

The study surveyed 315 traditional firms as well as fintechs and challengers across the globe in Singapore, China, Australia, the UK, and the US, to examine customer experience maturity and found that Singapore leads in certain areas of customer identity technologies.

In terms of fingerprint biometrics, Singapore comes in first (61 per cent) ahead of China (57 per cent), Australia (50 per cent) the UK (40 per cent) and the US (37 per cent). The country also surpasses other markets as the global leader in the adoption of voice recognition, with 56 per cent of firms indicating that they have either implemented this, or are expanding or upgrading their technologies, compared to Australia (52 per cent), China (49 per cent) the US (49 per cent) and the UK (33 per cent).

The research identified Singapore firms as consistently competitive, coming second to China in the adoption of social media data and behavioural monitoring to authenticate a customer’s identity, and behind only Australia in implementation of facial recognition biometrics. Singapore (89 per cent) is also close to the US (92 per cent) when it comes to firms placing a high or critical priority on improving the experience of customers.

As digital, technology-led innovation redefines every aspect of financial services, the study further revealed:

At 91 per cent, the top priority for firms in Singapore over the next 12 months is improving their ability to innovate

79 per cent of Singapore firms are planning to increase their spending on digital customer experience in the next 12 months

41 per cent of Singapore firms strongly agree they have the necessary people and skills to execute their customer-centric strategy – a higher percentage than any other market

Zooming out on financial services in APAC, the study also found that firms in the region trump their counterparts in the UK and US in terms of adoption of fingerprint biometrics and emerging technologies such as blockchain and robotic process automation.

While Singapore is behind the rest of APAC when it comes to enabling customers to carry out onboarding processes online, Singaporean firms are the keenest on implementing a fully-online process within the next 12 months.

Glenn Porter, Managing Director at GBG said, “Although Singapore is leading the way in adopting particular advanced technologies to authenticate customers’ identities, firms need to ensure they are globally competitive and address increasing customer expectations. Technologies such as electronic document capture, social media data and behavioural monitoring make it quicker, easier and safer to open accounts and transact online than ever before. Many firms will need to look to move away from legacy processes – especially when it comes to customer onboarding – and look to collaborate with partners that can support integration of innovative technologies.”

However, according to the Forrester study, customer identification is a widespread issue among financial service firms globally. In Singapore, 89 per cent of firms expressed concern with their ability to identify customers. The top two reasons cited include the lack of a comprehensive data management strategy to create a single view of the customer, and poor integration of business applications and technology platforms which make it difficult to share information internally or externally.

To access the research reports, further statistics and images, please visit www.idiq2018.com.

About GBG

GBG is a global specialist in Identity Data Intelligence. We help organisations make decisions about the customers they serve and the people they employ.

Through our fundamental belief that the digital economy relies on everyone having access to data they can trust, GBG enables companies and governments to fight fraud and cybercrime, to improve the customer experience and help to protect the more vulnerable people in our society.

Globally headquartered in Chester (UK), with ANZ headquarters in Melbourne and people in 17 countries, GBG provides solutions to many of the world's biggest organisations, from established brands like HSBC and Zurich Insurance to disruptive newcomers such as Stripe and Plus500.

GBG commissioned Forrester Research to conduct a study of 315 FinTech and Incumbent Financial Services organisations in Australia, China, Singapore, UK, and the US. The custom survey began in November 2017 and was completed in January 2018.